


A Dear Friend

by amanori



Series: Birthday Celebrations- BRT:NNG edition [2]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Birthday Fluff, Childhood Friends, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Birthday Shikadai!, Happy Ending, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amanori/pseuds/amanori
Summary: Shikadai celebrates his birthday with a deer and his boyfriend.*Happy Birthday Shikadai!! A birthday fic for the birthday boy!
Relationships: Nara Shikadai/Uzumaki Boruto
Series: Birthday Celebrations- BRT:NNG edition [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936714
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	A Dear Friend

It’s the gentle hand stroking his hair that wakes Shikadai up. He blinks his eyes blearily taking note of his soft green blanket he's had since he was a kid that makes him realize that he’s not on a mission but at home. He relaxes once it hits him and closes his eyes again.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready.” The hand ruffles his hair one final time before going away.

_Who?_

“Mo--?” He rubs his eyes before sitting up clumsily. 

There’s a soft laugh of amusement.

His Mom smiles at him. “I made your favorites. So you better come quick before your father gets up and starts eating them.”

“Okay,” Shikadai says, yawning. “You sure Dad won’t just leave the food alone?”

She gives him a look that says it all before leaving the room. Shikadai groans. Of course Dad would try to eat his food. They almost like all the same things and since his mom’s cooking is really good of course his dad would eat it up. No matter what it was. _I might as well get ready._ He stretches his arms over his shoulders before reaching to his dresser to get out his comb. He combs his hair before pulling it up in his usual hairstyle and stands up from the bed. 

_Well, since I actually need to do something today, I might as well change clothes now_. Shikadai changes from his pajamas into a plain black shirt and pants before shrugging his sweater on. He glances at the calendar. Who knew another year older would still feel the same. He didn’t feel any different.

Shikadai smiles to himself. Yesterday, he had gotten back home to Konoha with his team. It had been a relatively easy mission. Only lasted a day so it hadn’t taken long to get home. And yet, Boruto had been at the gate to be the first to greet him with so much enthusiasm that it made Inojin fake a gag before snapping a picture to send to Shikadai later.

In all reality, that might be the only birthday present he’ll get from Inojin today. Unless, Inojin decides to surprise him with a different one later at the birthday party. That is if he can manage to escape from his mom’s birthday celebration with the Yamanaka clan.

_He’ll probably just give me more pictures._

Still any picture of Boruto sent to him was forever appreciated and saved in his photobook much to Boruto’s complaints that it was too embarrassing.

(Not that Boruto didn’t do the same.)

Boruto had then given him a kiss on the cheek after squirming for a couple minutes in hesitation. Cheeks becoming so red like a cherry. Shikadai had watched equally just as red as Cho-Cho hooted at them. Despite having their first kiss a couple months ago on Boruto’s birthday, they haven’t done anything more than hold hands and the occasional kiss whenever Boruto could muster up the courage. Boruto was extremely shy, surprisingly so with how vibrant he was in everything else. It made Shikadai even more fond whenever Boruto got the courage to kiss him. The first couple of times Boruto had fainted, which scared the hell out of Shikadai.

But now he was strangely used to it. Shikadai made sure to catch Boruto every single time and he enjoyed the quiet moments when he got to hold him. Boruto always got embarrassed whenever he would wake up, but Shikadai never thought it was embarrassing. It was just another quirk he loved about Boruto.

He wonders if this was just another thing that love made him a fool for. Not that he minded of course. Boruto was equally just as a fool for him as he was for Boruto.

After that cheek kiss, he had been given a pre-birthday surprise at the crack of midnight with glitter thrown at him by his friends and a small cupcake with a candle already half melted from the last party they had thrown for another friend. It had been the worst and best thing to happen to him.

Worst because of the glitter (which now that he notices in the mirror, still sticks to his hair despite washing it twice.)

And best because he got to have his friends around him with their awful out of tune singing that scraped his eardrums.

_Yes, it was a perfect surprise_. Shikadai smiles to himself as he steps out of his room to head to the kitchen. Boruto had made him the cupcake with the help of his adopted brother. _I have to thank Kawaki later today for helping out._

Shikadai makes it just in time to see his Mom serving his plate. The steam from the food wafts into the air.

“Finally,” his Mom says. “Are you ready to eat? It’s still warm so eat up.”

“Yeah!” Shikadai sits down and grabs his plate closer to him.

Shikadai digs into his plate, making sure to savor every bite. He feels extremely lucky that both his parents have the day off. _Speaking of which_ , he thinks. _Where’s Dad?_ He chews carefully as he stares at the entryway waiting for him to appear complaining about how early it was.

Temari notices and stops chewing. She smiles at him knowing exactly what he was thinking of. “Shikamaru went off to pick something up a couple minutes ago. Don’t worry about it. He’ll be there at the celebration today.”

“I’m not worried,” he grumbles. Internally, he’s pleased though. _At least I’ll see him later today._

They eat whilst conversing about the dinner choices later at night. It’s only when it’s his last bite that he notices how silent it’s become now that the conversation has died down. He looks up to see his Mom staring at him.

“So you’re going there today?”

“Yeah, I want to say hello.” He finishes his last bite. “It shouldn’t take too long. I don’t think I’m going to take the whole day.”

“Well, there’s no rush if you do,” Temari says nonchalantly. She takes his plate to the sink.

Shikadai narrows his eyes at her. _I would’ve thought she wanted me to come back quickly. Dad also went off somewhere. Hmmn_.

“What’s Dad picking up?” Shikadai asks suspiciously. “You want me gone, no? What’s the present?”

She laughs at his suspicious expression. “Don’t be like that. It’s nothing too bad, but if you can make it so that you come right at dinner. It would be ideal.”

_Nothing too bad, huh._ “Sure, sure.”

It doesn’t ease his suspicions, but it can’t truly be something bad, _right?_ Deciding not to think too much about it, Shikadai leaves the room waving a hand behind him goodbye.

“Make sure to come in time for dinner!” Temari cries out from the kitchen.

“Yeah! I’ll remember!”

Shikadai barely gets to open the door to the patio before Temari pokes her head out and grins teasingly.

She holds out a bag filled with food. “Here, share these with Boruto.”

Shikadai blushes and takes the bag. “He’s not coming with me today! It’s not like I’m always with him!”

“Ahhaaa~ Sure~” She sings. She winks at him as he crosses the threshold to the outside patio.

_Do I really see him that much? Gosh, did we really become one of those lovey-dovey couples?_

Shikadai can already hear his teammates screaming ‘yes, you are!’ in his mind. _Ugh, no wonder Inojin and Cho-Cho always take the opportunity to tease us._ Shikadai sits down and takes off his inside shoes. Well, it’s not like he minds it. He likes to show his affection towards Boruto whenever he can even if it is embarrassing.

_Maybe I should be a little more reserved? But since it’s been months like this, I think everyone would think something was wrong if I suddenly changed my attitude. Agh, might as well just act the same. It’s not like Boruto doesn’t like it anyway_. 

Shikadai smiles as he remembers Boruto hugging him tightly yesterday. It had felt like his ribs were almost breaking with how hard Boruto had squeezed. The warmth of Boruto’s body as he pressed against him during the hug. The way Boruto had smiled at him, cheeks pink from blushing so hard. How pretty Boruto had looked.

He blushes again. _Stop that, you can’t just sit here reminiscing. I have to go visit a dear friend today_.

Shikadai slips on his outside shoes. _I’ll just visit Boruto afterwards since Mom wants me out for a couple more hours._

“Shikadai!”

Shikadai looks up startled to see a familiar burst of pink on top of the gate enclosure’s roof. Boruto waves a hand and grins. His blond locks flutter in the wind, shining with the sun’s rays. 

_So bright_.

Shikadai lips quirk up automatically. “Boruto!”

_What is he doing here?_  
  


Shikadai feels the instantaneous rush of affection towards the other immediately. He wants to hold him close to him. His hands itch to grab him.

_Geez, we really did become one of those lovey-dovey couples._

Boruto looks down at the ground, head tilting in thought. _Oh no, is he going to jump?_

And just as Shikadai raises his hand to stop him from jumping, mouth ready to tell him to be careful. Boruto hops down without a care onto the ground. He lands softly without a single noise.

“Don’t be such a worrywart,” Boruto says grinning at him, catching his expression. His eyes shine brightly with amusement.

Shikadai can’t help, but frown as he smiles. “I think that’s asking too much of me at this point.”

_I’ll always worry about you. No matter what._

Boruto blushes and kicks his foot shyly.

They stare at each other before looking away, both blushing red.

Shikadai covers his mouth, feeling embarrassed at himself. _I said that out loud, didn’t I?_ Yeah, this was probably never going to change. Him running his mouth off was an unfortunate habit he’s developed ever since he started dating Boruto.

“How are you so smooth,” Boruto mumbles as he covers his face with both of his hands.

“I really don’t think I am,” Shikadai mumbles back. 

After calming down for a couple of minutes, Boruto sits next to him. Shikadai can finally feel his cheeks cooling down. _I might as well just become a tomato._

“You said you were going to be busy during the afternoon. So I got here early to be the first to say it again.” Boruto holds out his arms over his head and yells. “Happy Birthday!”

Shikadai grins exasperated. “Boruto, you were just with me last night before we went home. You literally said the first ‘happy birthday’ to me. In fact, you made Cho-Cho and Inojin mad because you beat them by two seconds. You didn’t have to come just for that.”

Boruto has the gall to look smug about that. Shikadai can’t help the laugh that escapes him.

“And?”

“You’re really something,” Shikadai breathes. He takes Boruto’s hand carefully into his own and leans closer into Boruto’s space.

Boruto blushes even more. _Is this too much?_ Boruto doesn’t back away though. Feeling brave, Shikadai leans even closer. The corners of his lips twitch up as Boruto does the same.

Kissing him always feels like new every single time. The way his soft lips move against his own was something that always kept him up at night sometimes. Shikadai breaks off the kiss, smiling so widely internally as he opens his eyes to see Boruto trying to follow after his lips, still wanting to kiss some more.

_Cute_ , he thinks as he watches Boruto pout in disappointment at the short kiss. _Didn’t even faint this time. So cute._

_Ah, I have to go now if I want to catch him. I don’t want to leave Boruto though. Maybe, just maybe…._

“I have to go now,” Shikadai whispers, resting his forehead against Boruto’s.

“Hmmn,” Boruto hums disappointed. “Well, I’ll see you later today. I got to do what I wanted to do anyway.”

Shikadai pulls away after a couple of seconds and hops to his feet. “Well,” he trails off. “Since you’re already here. Might as well tag along.”

Boruto stares at him and jumps to his feet in excitement as Shikadai’s words finally register into his brain. 

“Really!?! Do you mean that?” His face brightens up immediately, wiping away the disappointment of separating. “Where are you going? I just wanted to see you. If it’s something that has to be done alone then I can just go back home. I can help Kawaki with the snacks we’re supposed to bring. I don’t want to be annoying or intrude on something.”

Shikadai looks at him, face scrunched up. “Don’t worry too much. It’s fine. Besides, I think Kawaki won’t be too pleased if you went and helped him.”

“Hey! I can cook!”

“I know you can.” Shikadai says exasperated. “But last time, it turned into a screaming match when you two argued about what dessert to make.”

Boruto pouts. “Ok well. That did happen. But it doesn’t happen that much!”

Shikadai bursts into laughter. _What a liar_. He continues to laugh even when they leave the Nara residence. Boruto begins to poke his side begging him to stop, but it only makes him laugh harder. Shikadai only stops once his sides hurt.

It makes Boruto look at him fondly. Shikadai smiles at him just as fond and holds out his right hand. Boruto takes it with a small smile. _This is nice._

_I guess I have to introduce them_. He holds the bag of food in his other arm making sure the contents don’t fall out. _I think he’ll like Boruto_.

Shikadai takes the path towards the Nara forest. He’s walked this path so many times over the course of his life that he feels like he can walk there blindfolded and still get there without a hitch. Shikadai had always gone there so much as a child that he feels like half his memories are of the deer and the other half: his family and friends. Shikadai likes going to the Nara forest. The secludedness of the forest was always a comfort. Nothing could bother him there. Whenever he got too stressed, he could always count on the forest to calm him down. 

Especially with the deer.

The reach farther into the forest where only the members of his clan are allowed. He doesn’t take people there often as a principle, but since it’s his birthday today….

_Might as well. I want them to meet_.

“Wait a minute, are you taking me--” Boruto trails off as they go deeper into the forest. “Oh.”

Shikadai watches fondly as Boruto’s eyes grow bigger in awe.

“Meet the Nara deer,” Shikadai lets go of Boruto’s hand and sweeps his hand across to show off the field. “This is where we keep some of our deer. The others are in different parts of the forest so this is only a small amount. But--”

“Wow! Shikadai, look there’s babies!” Boruto is practically bouncing on the heels of his feet. Boruto’s hand finds his again and squeezes it comfortingly. “Can I--?”

Shikadai nods. “Sure, go ahead. Just be careful when you’re petting them. Some like to nip fingers if they think you might have a snack.”

_Speaking of which, I wonder how long it’s going to take them to realize I have a bag of food for them_.

Boruto runs towards the nearest deer and comes to a slow halt. He approaches them carefully. “You’re so pretty,” he coos.

Shikadai laughs and settles down on the grass in the shade. The deer automatically go to greet him. He rubs a couple of them on the snout and laughs when one tries to eat his hair.

Boruto smiles. “They really like you.”

“Yeah, I’ve known them since I was a baby.”

_They’re my family_ , he thinks fondly.

Shikadai pets the one that sits next to him. “When I was really young, Dad took me here for the first time. I think it’s one of the clearest memories I have of when I was three. I was so upset because I wanted to play with you guys. But when I first laid eyes on them, all I wanted to do was to be with them. You know, you actually got so upset because I wasn’t spending a lot of time with you guys. I even had to create a schedule to make time for both. You must’ve really liked me back then, huh?” 

Boruto flushes. “Yeah, I was a pretty needy kid.”

Shikadai smiles widely. “I actually liked it. It made me feel important.”

Boruto rolls his eyes. “Yeah sure. I bet it was annoying for you. You don’t have to lie.”

Shikadai only smiles innocently at him. He wasn’t lying though. He likes it whenever Boruto says he wants him around. Despite his complaints of not wanting to do stuff, he always looked forward to playing with Boruto and getting up to any shenanigans with him. He strokes the fur of the deer beside him. _You’re so calm today. Where’s your father, hmm?_

He looks around the field hoping to spot his oldest friend. _Not here yet. I guess I should just start feeding them the snacks I’ve brought. Oh! There he is!_

Shikadai quickly motions his hand for Boruto to sit next to him. Boruto looks at him confused, but follows his instructions.

“Actually, there’s someone I want you to meet. He’s really important to me. It’s his birthday too.”

“Kage,” he calls out to the brown deer walking calmly towards them. 

Kage is different from the other deer in the field. The light green ribbon with a singular coin hanging around his neck gives indication of that. It had been a gift Shikadai had given the deer when he had been six. Despite his father insisting that there was a possibility that Kage might not take it, Kage had graciously accepted it. Not once had he ever seen the deer without the necklace ever since then. It never fails to make Shikadai smile whenever he sees it since he has a matching set stored away at home.

Kage walks slowly towards them, taking his time. Despite getting on in the years, Kage still looks just as strong as when he had been young. He rubs against Shikadai’s hand in greeting. It’s a practiced move that eases Shikadai’s heart.

“He was born the same day as me. He might not let you touch him. He’s a bit picky.” Shikadai reaches to scratch at the white spot on Kage’s left ear. “He’s an old one now.”

“Oh,” Boruto says in wonder, looking up at the deer walking towards them. “He’s so pretty.”

“Happy Birthday Kage,” Shikadai says smiling at the deer. He swears that he can see Kage’s eyes saying the same thing to him. 

_Happy birthday old friend. I hope you continue to live a long life_.

Kage rubs his whole face against Shikadai’s hand almost like a cat. 

“He’s really fond of you,” Boruto says.

Kage looks at Shikadai, eyes shining bright. Shikadai pets him gently.

_Yeah, you are. Aren’t you? I’m fond of you too._

Kage turns his face from him and finally noticing that Shikadai isn’t alone. Kage stares at Boruto with a questioning look before settling down. _Kage’s probably wondering who I brought over._ Shikadai pats his lap and Kage immediately rests his head on Shikadai’s lap with ease. Thinking about it, Shikadai has never introduced anyone to Kage. Not even his own teammates. It wasn’t something that he consciously chose to keep to himself. It was just that it never came up in conversation.

It wasn’t like he was offered many opportunities to say that he was friends with a deer. It is a bit weird to have a deer as a friend, but considering the Nara’s animal was a deer maybe it wasn’t so much.

_Well, I should show Kage to Cho-Cho and Inojin next time we meet to practice_.

With the amount of times he bared his heart out to Kage, he feels like he’s gained a true friend. Kage would always understand him no matter what. Even if he can’t speak the same language as him, just the way Kage looks at him makes Shikadai feel like Kage knows whatever he tries to tell him.

_I think Kage will like them._

They sit on the grass relaxing with Kage. Shikadai feels lucky. He has everything he wants today. His boyfriend is spending time with him. His mom is at home finally after back to back missions. His father’s schedule is cleared for the first time this month. The fact that he’s going to celebrate his birthday with those closest to him later at dinner.

And Kage.

Kage who looks at him all knowing as his gaze shifts towards Boruto.

_Yeah, I love him very much. I wanted to share this with you just as you’ve shared many things with me. He’s really important to me._

Kage tilts his head and blinks slowly. It almost looks like he’s smiling with his eyes. Kage raises his head and places it on Boruto’s lap. Kage who doesn’t let even Shikadai’s dad touch him without a little bargaining with a snack. Shikadai watches surprised, his heart feels full at the sight. Boruto looks at him startled before breaking into a giant smile. Boruto’s eyes twinkle brightly as he takes Kage’s face gently into his hands.

“Nice to meet you!” Boruto reaches a hand out to stroke Kage’s fur carefully. “You’re so beautiful.”

Kage snorts at his excitement and nudges the deer resting besides them. The deer stands gingerly on its feet.

“Oh, that’s Kage’s child.”

“EHH! You’re already a gramps Shikadai?”

Shikadai bumps shoulders against Boruto. “Idiot. I’m not his father. We’re the same age. Kage’s had many kids actually, but he decided to bring one over.”

“I see!”

Shikadai opens the bag of snacks and offers one. The other deer take notice and begin to flock over, interest peaked at the food.

“Let’s live long lives.” Boruto pets Kage. He looks at Shikadai, eyes serious. “Okay?”

Shikadai nods, taking Boruto’s hand and squeezes it tightly. “Yeah.”

_I want to spend my birthday like this next year too_.

His chest feels like bursting from happiness. He almost wants to cry. They sit enjoying the silence around them with the deer casually walking as they stroll and eat. Feeling calm, Shikadai closes his eyes and rests his head on Boruto’s shoulder. Only a couple more hours in the place he feels most at ease before returning home for the party.

_Thank you for being here_ , he thinks. _I got to show you one of the most special places in my life_.

Boruto squeezes his hand and leans onto him, resting his head on his. One hand still petting Kage who stares at them pleased.

“Happy Birthday, Shikadai.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, there!! I hope you enjoyed this fic!! I really enjoyed writing it! It was a lot of fun. You can read this fic on its own, but it's set in the same timeline as Card Game Bonanza! I kind of unexpectedly decided to have a sort of sequel to that one considering its a birthday fic. And since it's Shikadai's birthday today, I thought it was fitting.
> 
> lol I hope you enjoyed my cheesy pun with the title of this fic. It just came to me as I was deciding what to call this and inspiration struck.
> 
> Also, as for Kage I literally named him shadow lol. Shikadai picked the name when he was small and it stuck. I was thinking about this story idea for a while now and it would make sense for Shikadai to have some deer friends considering the Nara's own the forest and all that. I just find it cute to imagine him surrounded by deer. ;;; I hope you guys like it!!
> 
> lmao I still don't know who's the older one between the two. It could go either way. I kind of imagine Shikadai to be older than Boruto because of how rational he is but it can honestly go either way! I don't know if it's been confirmed or not or if I've missed it. But yeah,... anyway!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and leaving any comments!! I read every single one of them and it always brightens up my day!! Thank you so much!!! I try to respond back as soon as I can get to it ;; Thank you so much! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°


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